Scion: Heavenly Tool
by Celesta's Love487
Summary: Cleo's extended family is slowly disappearing and she doesn't know why. When her cousin Kira suddenly appears, Cleo learns something interesting about her family's bloodline. She'll need the protection of Orphen and Majic more than ever! CleoXOrphen AUish
1. Chapter 1

CelestaRedFlower: Hello everyone! Celesta here and as some of you may not know, this is my first fan fiction! I hope it comes out alright. Just so you know, this takes place almost directly after Licorice leaves the group. I might try and add her in later. Also, this is a CleoXOrphen fanfic. There are some points where I may get a little explicit in certain ahem situations and there's swearing. Just thought I would warn you in advance. Anyway! On with the story! Please enjoy.

"Dear god Orphen! When are we going to be out of this forest!" Cleo screamed so loud that even after she stopped talking you could still hear her voice echoing throughout the trees. Majic, sensing another long argument brewing, stepped back to avoid the crossfire. Leki skipped up next to his mistress's side, sensing that he would be needed soon.

"Well Cleo, we could get out of here faster if you would just shut up!" Orphen growled.

"Typical! You would find a way to somehow pin this on me! This is your fault you know! You and your horrible sense of direction, if you had just asked those people for directions we would be out of here by now, but no, you had to blast them away!" Cleo increased her pace.

She pulled back a vine that was in her way and let it fly back to hit Orphen. Orphen glared at her and ripped the vine out of the ground and threw it behind him. Majic, who thought he was out of harm's way, was hit in the face with the vine.

Majic groaned. "No matter where I am, I still end up getting hit with something," Majic whined quietly. He was just as irritable as the two in front of him but he stayed quiet.

"Didn't you notice something strange about those people, Cleo? Like how they were holding us at knife point? They were bandits you stupid brat!" Orphen caught up to her pace.

Cleo moaned in frustration and sat down on the nearest rock she could find. "Well, then you should have tortured the hell out of them for directions," Cleo took off one of her shoes and gently massaged her foot.

Majic stepped next to Orphen and quietly whispered, "You know Master, she's only venting because Licorice is gone. She's just feeling a little lonely now that the only girl she's traveled with isn't here." Orphen already knew that and that knowledge is the only thing that has been keeping him from strangling her. Orphen nodded in understanding.

Cleo looked over at Orphen and Majic. They had begun a lesson which was a sign that meant they were staying here for the night. She felt a little guilty, she knew she was acting like a bitch but she couldn't help it. Kicking and screaming was just her way of dealing with things.

Leki jumped into her lap, begging to be stroked. She smiled and complied with his request. She missed Licorice, her little 'sister', and hoped to receive word from her soon.

Cleo studied her surroundings. This place felt oddly familiar. She seemed to remember coming here once with someone from her family.

She continued to subconsciously stoke Leki until her hand went beyond his tail and brushed across something rigid on the rock. She glanced over and saw a horrible carving of a girl with wings. She remembered where she was when she saw the carving. She had done it when she was about five years old.

Cleo jumped up and proudly announced, "I know where we are!"

"Yeah? Where?" Orphen asked without bothering to look up.

"We're in Perthro. It's a small town between Alenhatan and Totokanta. My cousin Kira lives here," Cleo smiled remembering the fond memories she had of her cousin.

"Does she live nearby? After the whole sorcerous beast mess, I think it'd be real nice to stay in a more comfortable place than outside in the forest," Majic gathered the bags and shifted the heavy knapsack from shoulder to shoulder.

Majic didn't like to complain about where they were staying, that was usually Cleo's job. But he had used up so much energy when he was fighting Orphen and he really needed to rest.

Orphen wanted to rest in a more relaxing area as well. He had over exhausted himself when he fought the sorcerous beast. Although, he would never admit it to Cleo and Majic, the last thing he needed was to have them worried about him. He got annoyed whenever someone got worried over him.

"Yeah, she lives less than a mile away from here. I know the way," Cleo put her shoe back on her foot and started walking deeper into the forest.

"This cousin of yours, Kira, what's she like?" Majic asked.

"If she's anything like Cleo I don't want to meet her," Orphen smirked. Cleo stopped dead in her tracks and gave Orphen a fierce glare. Majic began to back up but stopped when Cleo turned around and started walking again.

"I'm glad you asked Majic," Cleo replied cheerfully but then acidly remarked, "No, she isn't like me," Cleo slowed down to find the right words to describe Kira.

"She's kind of like another older sister to me. She's younger than Mariabella though. She was always so mysterious and she had this strange need to know and understand everything. Now that I think of it, she was the first person I ever met who could read those sorcerous runes you guys always ramble on about."

Now Orphen was interested.

"She could read runes? Was she a sorcerer?" Orphen asked.

"No… well I don't think so. Weird things always happened around her. That's probably why I liked being with her so much. She was so different and interesting. I think she wanted to learn about runes because there was…oh never mind. I don't really know," Cleo did seem to remember that her cousin mostly kept to herself about anything that had to do with magic and sorcery. To respect Kira's privacy, Cleo decided not to continue further.

After about another twenty minutes of walking, the trio arrived at a cobblestone path that led up to a large house slightly smaller than Cleo's mansion. There was approximately a hundred feet of tree free space that extended from the house in every direction creating the courtyard.

"Wow! This is almost as amazing as your mansion Cleo," Majic gawked at the estate before him

"Yes, almost," Cleo stated with pride.

"Geez, what do the people in your family do to earn this much money?" Orphen glanced at a small fountain in the middle of the courtyard.

"Well, you know my father was a merchant. Kira's father was my father's brother and he was in the trading business. Kira's mother was also somewhat of an amateur archaeologist before she got married," Cleo explained.

When they reached the door, Cleo knocked as hard and as loud as she could, it was such a large estate that you had to put a lot of force into it if you wanted to be heard. "Hello! It's Cleo! Is anyone home? Hello?" Cleo bellowed.

"They're not home?" Majic asked.

"Looks that way," Orphen looked up at the windows, one appeared to have blood smeared on it.

"I don't understand. Kira and her family rarely ever leave the house. Scratch that, Kira never leaves unless it's to go into the forest. And even in the rare event of them both being gone, the servants should have answered the door…" Cleo was growing uneasy.

"Cleo, move," Orphen commanded. Cleo stepped aside and Orphen blasted the door open.

Cleo covered her mouth and smothered a gasp.

"Oh my god…everything's destroyed.." Majic set down the bags.

"Damnit, can't anything go right for once," Orphen sighed and began studying the room.

As Majic said, everything was destroyed. They had walked into the parlor of the house. Anything that was made of glass was shattered into thousands of pieces making the floor a dangerous obstacle course. Portraits were ripped apart and strewn across the floor. Couches and tables were stripped of their limbs and tipped upside down. There were some blood spots going up the marble staircase.

"Oh no…" Cleo sighted the blood on the stairs and raced up them. Kira, Uncle, and Aunty were the only things running through her mind.

"Wait! Whoever did this could still be here! Cleo!" Orphen chased after her.

Cleo didn't care. Actually, she wanted them to be there and punish them for…no, she couldn't think that. They couldn't be dead. But if they were, there was going to be all hell to pay.

She missed the last step and fell backwards right onto Orphen. Orphen reacted as quickly as he could and grabbed any part of her that would keep her from pushing him backwards.

"Cleo you stupid--" Orphen stopped in mid-sentence when he felt how badly she was shaking from fear. Orphen sighed.

"Calm down. We don't know anything yet," Orphen continued to try and sooth her when he heard Majic running towards them.

"Master, is everything all right I thought I heard something crash and a scream!" Majic stared at Orphen and blushed.

"What?" Orphen asked.

"Uh…Master, your hand," Majic hid a smirk with his hand and looked away.

Orphen instead of looking down where he was touching, squeezed and realized his hand was on one of her breasts. Big mistake. The result was a backhand across the face and a very furious Cleo running back up the stairs.

'_Talk about taking advantage of the situation_,' Majic thought smugly.

"Shut up Majic!" Orphen turned away to hide his reddening face.

"But Master, I didn't say anything.."

"I don't care! This is serious. This is no time to be acting like an idiot," Orphen followed Cleo up the stairs.

"You're only yelling at me because you're embarrassed…" Majic muttered after Orphen was out of sight. Majic decided to check around the rest of the house just in case any of the servants were attacked and were hiding somewhere.

Meanwhile Orphen was searching for Cleo in the endless corridor.

"Seriously, do they _need_ this many rooms?" Orphen asked no one in particular.

He was about ready to punch a wall in frustration when he heard Cleo scream. He followed her voice and found a door that was left ajar. He found her sitting on the floor in complete shock. The room he had entered was the one he had seen with the blood smeared on the windows.

There were people cut apart, decapitated and torn limb from limb. There was one person who had fallen close to the window and had apparently tried to write something but died before they could finish.

"Cleo." Orphen approached her.

She remained silent with Leki at her side pawing at her and whining in desperation.

"Cleo!" Orphen waved a hand in front of her face. When she didn't respond, he gently shook her calling her name. It was no use, she was catatonic.

"Are they the members of your family?" Orphen asked hoping the answer was no, but even if it was, this image would still leave an emotional scar.

He waited patiently for her response and when one didn't come, he did the only thing he knew to resort to, violence. He slapped her dead across the face, not enough to hurt her, but what he thought would be enough to shock her. It wasn't. Leki growled slightly, but didn't blast him, he knew he didn't do it to hurt her, but still she sat there lifeless.

So he resorted to the second thing he knew best, insults. He shot a parade of insults that normally would have made her kick him where it counts. And still, he got nothing.

Orphen was at a loss he was starting to feel dizzy with worry. Then a thought struck him, shock therapy. He was desperate enough to try anything… Orphen cupped Cleo's face with both hands and kissed her. Cleo's eyes widened, and for the second time to today Orphen was slapped across the face.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing!" Cleo blushed profusely.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing scaring me to death like that! Were you trying to give me a heart attack!" Orphen rubbed his cheek.

Cleo was going to protest further but her red face quickly turned white again after catching sight of the morbid scene behind Orphen.

"Is this your family?" Orphen asked softly.

Cleo shook her head slowly. "No, they're the servants of the house, they were always so nice and they were so close to the rest of the family… and they… they," Cleo lost her voice and starting crying.

Orphen put a hand on her shoulder and led her out of the room. Before leaving he looked back at the bodies. They were ripped apart, literally. Whatever did this was obviously not human, which was the thing that really bothered Orphen. If it was some kind of monster how did it get in the house? The front door was completely unscathed. He would have to check the rest of the doors to see where the monster had broken in.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Majic yelling, "Hey! I found something!"

Da da da duh! So how was it? I hope I'm doing okay on my first try. I'll admit that it seemed a little rushed and kinda choppy… I'll do better once I really get into the story. Please send your reviews. I would love to hear any suggestions you may have on my writing. Until next time. bows


	2. Chapter 2

CelestaRedFlower: Wee! Another chapter! I forgot the disclaimer in the last chapter so I'll say it twice here. (I don't think saying it twice really matters but I'm gonna do it anyway.)  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sorcerous Stabber Orphen.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sorcerous Stabber Orphen.  
Enjoy!

"Majic?" Orphen asked still gripping Cleo's shoulder. Cleo glanced up to see Majic holding a piece of paper.

"Master, look at this! It's written in sorcerous runes!" Majic held the piece of paper in the air to show Orphen.

Orphen caught a glimpse of the mysterious paper

. "Majic! Put that down! Now!" Orphen hollered pushing Cleo behind him. Majic didn't react quickly enough and let the piece of paper glide through the air. The runes started to glow a light purple then black. The paper stopped in midair and burst into a puddle of black acid spilling onto the floor. Slowly it began to form a severely deformed arm covered in black organic tissue. Orphen blast the arm into what looked like purple radioactive ash.

"What the hell was that?" Cleo stared at the glowing ashes in disbelief.

"That was…before it turned into an arm, that puddle looked like…" Majic shifted his gaze to Orphen.

"Yeah, before it turned into an arm it kind of looked like Cleo's radioactive stew," Orphen and Majic nodded in agreement.

"What was that!" Cleo shrieked holding Leki out at arms length, ready to send the command that would blow them across the continent.

Majic held up his hands defensively. "We were just kidding Cleo, honest! Just trying to lighten the mood," Majic laughed nervously.

"I wasn't joking," Orphen whispered under his breath so Cleo couldn't hear.

Cleo lowered Leki and glanced back at the ashes. She saw a glint of something metal beneath a couple layers of the revolting dust.

"Hey, what's this?" Cleo bent over and picked up a small gold ring embedded with tiny fragments of green stone.

"What is it Cleo?" Majic watched her, puzzled.

"This is Kira's ring. She had her full name engraved on the inside of it, Kiraza Annette Everlasting," Cleo whispered solemnly. Cleo was about to slip the ring onto her finger but stopped remembering what happened to the paper. For safekeeping, she slipped it into her pocket instead.

"How did you know something was going to happen to the paper, Master? Did you read something off of it?" Majic turned his attention to Orphen.

"Yeah, I saw something alright," Orphen stretched and stacked his hands behind his head, "I saw an attack spell that could only be activated if a sorcerer were to touch the paper. The line I read specifically said "destroy any Sorcerer that comes in contact with the Everlastings."

Cleo flinched slightly.

"Cleo, I think it's about high time you told us what exactly your cousin is. She could read runes and use M-alchemy. There's a lot more to this Kira than you're letting on," Orphen relaxed against the wall and waited for an explanation. Cleo focused on the floor determined not to reply. Majic, sensing the growing tension in the room, decided to intervene.

"Master, what's M-alchemy?"

"Not now Majic," Orphen stated firmly, determined not to get distracted.

Majic wasn't going to give up. Didn't his master see that this was no time to start interrogating Cleo? She was still in shock. They had other things to worry about like what happened to Cleo's family and where they were going to stay for the night. They couldn't very well stay here, in all this chaos.

Majic decided to try a new method, though he was surely going to get yelled at and/or smacked on the head. Majic took a long inhale, "Master, where are we going to stay tonight? We can't stay here, the place is totally destroyed. Speaking of which, this place is in a Perthro right? It's a small town? Shouldn't we report this? Shouldn't we try and find lodging? By the way, what _is_ M-alchemy? If I don't know what it is, I'm sure Cleo doesn't, so why are you asking her about it?"

Sure enough, Orphen clonked Majic on the head and ranted, "Damnit Majic! Don't ask so many things at once! It's irritating!"

"He's right though, Orphen. Shouldn't we report the murders to the authorities?" Cleo asked.

Orphen sighed. "Yeah, I suppose so. I expect a detailed explanation of that cousin of yours when I get back," Orphen turned to leave and waved goodbye with his two finger salute.

Majic and Cleo sat outside (because of the glass shards), in silence while Leki slept in her lap. Majic didn't want to pester her, but…he was bursting with so many questions. Every now and then he would muster up the courage to fire a question but then he would see her melancholy face and just clam up.

"So, uh I wonder when Master's getting back…oh, wait, and now that I think of it, Does Master even know the way? To town, I mean. We were lost in that forest for a long…"

And the clam has closed. Majic gave up trying to make small talk.

"Don't worry Majic; from here the signs to town are pretty clear. Even a sorcerer as stupid as Orphen can find his way there," Cleo replied nonchalantly. Majic smiled, it seemed that she got some of her sense of humor back.

"You know, Cleo if….if…oh. Never mind," Majic lost his courage again.

"Oh, will you spit it out! You look like you're _dying_ to say something. It's driving me nuts!" Cleo grumbled.

"Be careful Cleo, you're starting to sound a little too much like Master," Majic snickered, then in a more serious tone said, "Sometimes Master can be a little intimidating…okay when he's pissed, a lot intimidating. I just wanted to tell you if you don't want to tell him anything about Kira, then you can always tell me."

Cleo smirked. "Yeah, you're easy to talk to because you're not intimidating at all."

"Gee, thanks," Majic laughed sarcastically.

"Seriously though…," Cleo hesitated but continued despite the uncomfortable felling that was growing the more she thought of Kira, "Kira always despised sorcerers. I don't even know why. She pretty much kept to herself but she let me in on some of her secrets. She had this weird thing she could do with animals. She could take their characteristics. I guess that's the best way to describe it. Like, once when I was about five years old we decided to play hide and seek. Kira was the seeker and I was the hider. I, of course being me, somehow found a cliff to trip and fall off of while I was running in the woods. Kira heard me scream and saw me fall from the cliff. She somehow called a bird to her side, touched it, and sprouted wings! Anyway, she swooped down like a freaking falcon and brought me back to the forest. She made me swear not to tell anyone especially…especially sorcerers."

"Wow. Do you suppose she used some kind of magic?" Majic asked, intrigued.

"Well, what else could it have been? Normal people don't have the power to sprout wings and fly just by touching a bird, now do they? It had to have been magic," Cleo confirmed. By this time, Leki had woken up and ran off to harass a butterfly.

"A simple promise that I hoped you would keep secret, Cleo. I guess I was wrong," a voice whispered from behind Cleo and Majic, startling them.

They both spun around to face the source of the voice. Cleo gasped in alarm. Majic pushed protectively in front of her. The source of the voice was a girl with sharp green eyes, pale skin, long dark wavy hair, clad in a maroon dress and an orange sash hiding her left arm.

"Who are you! What are you doing here!" Majic demanded and began to power up a spell.

"A…sorcerer…? Honestly, Cleo. Sorcerers, the last kind of people I want finding out about my secrets are the first you tell? I thought I knew you better than that," the girl whispered sadly shaking her head in disappointment.

Cleo pushed past Majic and embraced the mysterious girl. At first the girl was surprised but then she slowly relaxed in Cleo's arms and placed her right hand on her back, patting her reassuringly.

"I'm so glad you're okay…I saw the servants and I thought the most awful things happened to you too," Cleo squeezed the girl tighter.

"Uh, Cleo…can't…breathe…" the brunette gasped for air.

"Oops! Sorry about that!" Cleo released her.

"Okay, now I'm confused," Majic scratched the back of his head.

"Majic, this is Kira, and Kira, this is Majic," Cleo grinned pulling Kira with her closer to the young sorcerer.

"Uh, hi, I'm Majic Lynne," Majic smiled sheepishly and held out his hand for a formal handshake.

Kira stared at his hand and backed away. She didn't want to be this close to a sorcerer, not now…

"Nice to meet you, my name is Kiraza Everlasting. You may call me Kira," Kira bowed her head forward in politeness. She attempted to smile sweetly, but anyone who could easily read people would see the iciness behind it.

Kira bit the thumbnail of her right hand nervously. She analyzed Majic up and down, judging every bit of him. She sensed little power. He wasn't a full fledged sorcerer, which was a great relief. But she did feel that there was something lurking beneath the surface, power that, fortunately for her, he had not come into… yet.

Kira's thoughts were interrupted by a little bundle of blue fur that had discarded his hunt of the butterfly to greet her.

"A deep dragon cub? What's a Wolven doing in a place like this?" Kira asked no one in particular as Cleo picked up the cub and held him out to Kira.

"I forgot to introduce you. This is Leki," Cleo pulled him back to her chest. Leki yipped happily as if to say hello.

"He's yours…?" Kira went pale, "Cleo, you should stay as far away from this sorcerer…no, _all_ sorcerers at _all_ costs. Especially now," Kira began pulling Cleo away from Majic.

"Why who did this? Who murdered the servants? Who would do something that savage!" Cleo broke from Kira's grip and stared at her pleading for answers.

"They didn't mean to…it wasn't their fault. They…" Before Kira could finish she felt a tremendous power appear from no where. This was what she was afraid of, the power of an elite sorcerer.

"Yeah, that's precisely what I want to know," Orphen materialized from thin air and stood next to his two companions.

"Master! How long have you been standing there?" Majic asked flustered and a little ashamed that he didn't sense his master's presence.

"Just long enough to hear how intimidating I am," Orphen smirked, "It really is a small town, it took me no time at all to report the murders," Orphen turned his attention back to Kira expectantly.

"They weren't murdered! It was an accident…" Kira looked away.

"An accident? While experimenting with M-alchemy? I wouldn't be surprised. Legends say it's incredibly unpredictable," Orphen took a step forward and Kira took a step back.

"Master, what _is_ M-alchemy?" Magic asked again, for the third time.

"M-alchemy is a type of science and magic mixed together. It can also fuse magic into inanimate objects with the power of runes alone. It's mentioned in some of the books at the Tower of Fang but only in passing. All I've ever heard about it was legends. The ability of M-alchemy was supposedly a type of gene that very few people possessed. Like magic, it can't be learned unless you have the gene, and there was something about not being able to be a sorcerer to use M-alchemy too. Did I cover everything?" Orphen asked Kira.

"Stay out of this! We have nothing to do with you sorcerers! Cleo, come on! You have to get away from these people as soon as possible," Kira urged but Cleo stood her ground.

"I'm not leaving them. These are good sorcerers, Kira. Well, except maybe Orphen. They wouldn't do anything to hurt us. What are you so afraid of?" Cleo held out her hand imploring Kira to come to her but Kira just shook her head.

"It's not about whether they're good or not! Fine… if you're going to stay with them at least know that when marks start appearing on your body don't let any sorcerer touch you," and with that said Kira traced something in the air and disappeared leaving two very confused sorcerers and a very confused and worried Cleo.

CelestaRedFlower: If you're dissatisfied with the current amount of CleoXOrphen, don't worry. It will increase in the next chapters. Thank you, my reviewers! It makes me so happy to see people like my story. Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

CelestaRedFlower: Celesta here! First of all, I don't know if there were police in the world of Sorcerous Stabber Orphen and if there were, what they were called. I just stuck with 'the authorities' and I made their methods for dealing with crime scenes different. Also, the 'Commander' is what I guess would be the equivalent to a police chief…person. I'm really uneducated when it comes to things like this so please bear with me. I don't know to what extent their technology and science reached either. I hope it's okay that I made things up a bit. (By the way, that thing with M-alchemy…yeah, I made that up too…for those who may have been wondering…) Anyway! On with the story! And before I forget…  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sorcerous Stabber Orphen

"Okay, what just happened?" Majic asked.

"I have no idea," Orphen smirked at Cleo, "So; I'm not supposed to touch you am I?"

"Like I'd let you," Cleo scoffed.

"I think it's more accurate to say, like I ever would," Orphen challenged.

Cleo glared at Orphen ferociously. It was a face that truly said 'your end is near' and Orphen was enjoying every bit of it.

"Master, I have a few questions. How did you appear out of no where and how did Kira disappear?"

"Well, first I teleported back but then I heard you guys talking about me, so I used a cloaking spell to hide my presence," Majic blushed slightly ashamed and Cleo stared at the ground in response to his statement.

"I didn't expect to see Kira appear behind you. My guess is she appeared the same way she disappeared, by using M-alchemy."

Orphen glared at Majic. He was a little irked by the fact that Cleo felt more comfortable talking with Majic than him. He wasn't angry so much as annoyed. He didn't even know why. Was he…jealous…? Orphen dismissed the thought almost as soon as it came. He decided not to push the matter any farther.

"But how, Master? What was it that Kira traced in the air?" Majic asked, dismissing Orphen's glare.

"Damnit Majic! How the hell should I know? I told you everything I know about M-alchemy so you should be able to come up with answers on your own, it's not like that taught this stuff at the tower," Orphen was starting to lose patience with his dense apprentice, "My guess is that she traced runes in the air, and from what I gathered from your conversation, she somehow took the characteristics of the air…and I don't know, turned into air?"

"So, what do we do now?" Cleo asked drawing Orphen's attention away from Majic's questions.

"Well, the authorities are coming to do their thing. They want us to stay here and wait until they arrive, which shouldn't take too long," Orphen stretched and sat down on the ground with his back against the wall. "Wake me when they get here," he yawned.

True to Orphen's words, the authorities arrived a little while later to collect statements and to inspect the house and bodies. A crew of people came to gather all the broken furniture pieces, sweep up the glass, and bring the bodies to the local church to be buried.

Within that time Orphen discovered that there was no inn in Perthro because it was such a small town. He thought it best that they head straight to Totokanta and didn't sleep outside in these parts for fear of what might be lurking in the shadows. He also decided to check on all the doors that were entrances into the estate. He looked for marks betraying any signs of breaking and entering or magic. There weren't any.

"What! We're heading straight to Totokanta!" Majic and Cleo asked in unison.

"Yep. Don't look so surprised, Cleo. You've been to this town before and already know there isn't an inn. You're just going to have to suck it up and start walking."

Cleo didn't want to walk anymore today than they already had. She was tired, confused, hungry, dirty, and worried. She also knew that Majic was just as tired and (although he would never admit it) that Orphen was exhausted. Cleo decided to work a little 'magic' of her own. She hurried over to the Commander, who was about to leave.

Majic and Orphen watched her. They were too far away to actually hear their conversation but understood some of her hand gestures, something about a horse…and a box? They waited as she went running back to them.

"I have good news! I convinced the Commander to lend us a carriage. We get a driver too. They felt really sorry for our losses and since they don't have an inn, they offered us a ride instead," Cleo smiled proudly.

"Wow that is good news!" Majic sighed gratefully.

"What did you do, threaten to talk him to death if he didn't agree?" Orphen had to ask. She looked so pleased with herself that he had to tease her.

"For your information, I asked him _once_ and _politely_! You could try and be a little more grateful, you know! I did most of this for you, I know we're all tired, but you're the worst out of the three of us!" Cleo put her hands on her hips daring him to contradict her.

Orphen stayed silent. After minutes of waiting in silence, the Commander approached them.

"Miss, the carriage you requested is here," he informed.

"Thank you very much! Majic, get the bags!" Cleo ordered.

Majic groaned but did as he was told. The three of them boarded the carriage, Majic sat on the left side while Cleo and Orphen sat on the right side.

Shortly after boarding, Majic fell asleep to the steady rhythm of the carriage. Leki curled up into a ball and slept in the emptiest corner. Cleo lost herself in her thoughts and stared into nothingness.

"Normally I would be enjoying the peace and quiet but your silence is beginning to scare me. What are you thinking about?" Orphen asked.

"Just the last things Kira said before she disappeared, 'they didn't mean to do it' and 'it was an accident'," Cleo groaned loudly, "I just wish I knew what the hell happened! It's so frustrating!" Cleo cried.

Orphen nodded. "What do you think happened to her parents? They were the only ones who weren't at the house."

"I don't know. I'm not sure I want to know," Cleo's voice trailed off as images of the mangled bodies entered her mind. She tried to push them back but failed.

"I just can't get those images out of my head. I mean I've seen dead bodies before but never…so gruesome," Cleo paled as she remembered stepping on a torn limb when she first entered the room.

"Yeah," Orphen replied lazily as he began nodding off to sleep.

"Hey. Hey, are you listening to me?" Cleo asked annoyed. Her question was answered b his snoring. She was the only one awake and unpleasantly so. Deciding to follow her companions' example, she rested her head back and closed her eyes ready to drift off to sleep.

The carriage's steady rhythm was broken by a mild bump and Cleo felt something fall into her lap. She opened her eyes gazed down at Orphen's head resting comfortably on her legs. Cleo blushed and smiled to herself. 'Oooh…I am so going to pick on him later for this,' she thought mischievously.

Her legs started to go numb and her position became increasingly uncomfortable. She tried to shift her legs so that they were straight but before she moved too far away, Orphen squeezed her around the waist.

'Is he really sleeping…?' Cleo's eyes narrowed suspiciously. She blushed deeper as his hands gripped lower.

"Hey, hey! Watch your hands, buddy!" Cleo whispered heatedly. She poked and prodded him to see if he would wake, when he didn't she sighed and gave up. She hadn't been trying hard to wake him up in the first place. Honestly, she was actually enjoying his touch.

"Oh, well…" Cleo sighed again, exasperated and continued to try and relax. Each time she struggled to lie down, he would slide up her body to prevent his precious 'pillow' from escaping. When she finally succeeded, Orphen's head ended up resting comfortably on her chest. Upon finding the softest part of her body, he fell into a more restful sleep.

Cleo's face grew hotter making her even more tired. Eventually exhaustion overtook her and she fell fast asleep.

Majic smirked to himself, he had been awake long enough to see Orphen and Cleo's 'display'. At first he thought Orphen was finally making a move on Cleo but was disappointed when he realized that Orphen was actually sleeping. Asleep or not, Majic was quite interested to see how his master was going to react to the lovely sight below him when he did wake.

About half an hour later, Orphen began to stir in his sleep. He opened his eyes to see Cleo's ample bust below him. All he could do was stare in shock as his face burned.

"Enjoying the view, Master?" Majic grinned broadly.

"Majic?" Orphen whispered hoarsely, "How long have I been sleeping like that?"

"Quite some time."

"And you didn't try to wake me?"

"No," Majic replied but when Orphen was about to start up again, Majic added quickly, "but Cleo did. She eventually gave up and let you sleep there."

Orphen's face flushed so red you could barely tell the difference between his skin and his headband. "She was awake when I…?"

Majic couldn't resist this perfect opportunity of getting his master back for all the humiliations he caused him to suffer. Majic had never been one to seek revenge for anything, but this was too funny. He just had to tease Orphen even if it meant death.

"Yeah, she tried to wake you up but you just started groping her. And when she tried to get away you crawled on top of her. And I mean _crawled_. You practically molested her on your way up," Majic paused to witness Orphen's face. He had never seen his master so completely and utterly flustered. All of what he said was true for the most part, though slightly exaggerated. Majic decided to add one last thing for the finale. "But don't worry Master; if she's pregnant, I'm sure Cleo's mother will be _thrilled_."

"WHAT!" This time Orphen didn't even bother to keep his voice down.

Cleo shot up and Leki's ears perked. Eyes glowing, he growled wondering who dared to wake him from his nap.

"What the hell is the matter with you!" Cleo stood up and punched Orphen as hard as she could.

"You're not…sore at all?" Orphen asked rubbing his throbbing arm.

"No…? But you're gonna be if you don't tell why you just woke up everyone in a ten mile radius!" Cleo held up her fist threateningly.

Orphen groaned at his own naivety. Of course they hadn't…_done_ anything; it was so obvious. He had been too shaken up to process the situation. Majic blanched at the murderous expression on Orphen's face.

"Well, Cleo. I guess it's just going to be the two of us traveling together," Orphen said calmly cracking his knuckles.

Cleo dropped her fist. "Huh? Why?"

"Because I'm going to _kill _Majic," Orphen replied with the same icy calmness.

Majic gulped. 'Well, I asked for this…' Majic thought and winced anticipating a long beating, which Orphen was obliged to give him.

The driver stopped and let them out at the main road that led to Totokanta.

"You're going to have to walk the rest of the way there. I'm stopping here for ol' Brownie because she needs some rest. So do I for that matter, after listening to you kids squabble, I feel like I've lost my hearing for the second time in my life," the old man mumbled.

They thanked the man for his services and started on the road to Totokanta.

Cleo laughed hysterically when she learned the story Majic had told to Orphen.

"It isn't funny," Orphen growled.

"Yes, it is! You seriously believed that?" Cleo wiped away tears from her eyes.

Orphen grunted disgustedly, "I don't know what part of his little tale was worse the ending or the part with me climbing on top of you."

"Actually that part was true," Cleo skipped over a puddle in the street that led to her house. Leki quickened his pace to catch up to his mistress and Majic stayed out of sight just in case Orphen felt the need to hit something.

"Oh, so you two little demons are in on it together, huh? Orphen glared.

"I could care less if you believe me or not, but if you have another explanation as to how you got on me and if I was 'in on it' as you said, why I would degrade myself so low, I would love to hear it," Cleo challenged him.

"I don't know how you did it but I know I sure as hell wouldn't have done it intentionally, asleep or not!" Orphen spat.

"Uh...guys, you might want to keep your voices down. It is the middle of the night, you know."

"Shut up!" Orphen and Cleo shouted in unison.

"Well you were asleep, so now I'm curious, what were you dreaming about?"

"None of your damn business!" Orphen roared.

Cleo grunted indignantly and sped up her pace hurrying ahead of the others to reach the front door of her mansion. She knocked impatiently on the door and was greeted by Mariabella.

"Cleo? What are you doing here at this time of the night?" Mariabella asked rubbing her eyes.

"Mariabella? I thought one of the servants would answer," Cleo stepped inside motioning to Orphen and Majic that they were welcome, "What's up?" she asked anxiously.

Majic stepped in to set down Cleo's bags. He stretched his arms in the air and cracked his back.

"Man, I swear that bag is getting heavier by the day," Majic struggled to catch his breath. Orphen glared at him causing Majic to cower slightly. He hadn't quite forgiven Majic for his little prank yet.

"Mariabella?" Cleo tried to get her sister's attention, "What's the matter?"

"Well, you see, you remember our little cousin Linnea, right?" When Cleo nodded Mariabella continued, "Her thirteenth birthday is coming up, so we sent a letter to her parents about a week ago asking what we should get her. We sent our fastest messenger and when he didn't come back we got worried. Mother had some free time so we decided to go over for a quick visit to Berkano. When we got there…," Mariabella put a hand over her mouth and tried to compose herself, "When we got there, the roof was completely destroyed, as if some monster was inside and just jumped through the top. The servants were murdered and strewn across the yard in bits and pieces. Linnea, Aunt Nora, Uncle Gerald, and Beatrice were nowhere to be found," Mariabella choked, "Excuse me!" she cried and made her way to the bathroom.

Cleo slumped against the wall and slid down to cradle herself in a ball.

"It's the same," she mumbled, "Exactly the same."

Orphen and Majic kneeled down close to her.

"Don't worry Cleo. Everything will turn out fine in the end, I'm sure of it," Majic held her hand tightly.

"Don't worry…? How can you tell me not to worry, when seven of my relatives disappear and only one comes back to try and tell me something and I don't even listen to her…not to mention that ten people or more have been murdered and I don't know how or why. How can I not worry!" Cleo wailed.

"Hey," Orphen cupped her face tenderly in order to calm her down, "We don't know anything yet. I'm not going to give you false hope and say everything is perfectly fine and dandy, but that doesn't mean that they've all been brutally slaughtered either. I have a feeling that they're alive only because it wouldn't make sense just to kill the servants at the houses and kill your family in another place, now does it?"

"No, no it doesn't."

"Getting all worked up doesn't solve anything. You have to stay calm," Orphen took both of her hands and pulled her to her feet.

Majic had to hand it to him; Orphen was the only person he knew that could handle Cleo so well in these situations, although the reverse could be said when it came to Cleo handling Orphen. 'I find it incredibly ironic that the one who tells Cleo to stay calm is the one that is the most hotheaded," Majic mused.

Their quiet moment was broken by Cleo's mother, Tistiny, screaming, "That is outrageous! Surely there's something you sorcerers can do!"

Cleo, Majic, and Orphen gave each other a side glance at what they knew was coming.

And sure enough, an all too familiar voice replied, "I'm sorry, but we don't have enough information right now. There's nothing we can do but gather as much information as we can. I'm truly sorry, but you're just going to have to wait a bit."

The conversation ended and the door to the downstairs study opened.

"Wow, Hartia. You really get stuck with the worst jobs, don't you?" Orphen snickered.

"Krylancelo!" Hartia cried, startled.

"Hey, Shrimp man, what were you talking about in there?" Majic asked.

"Don't call me…oh, I give up. We were talking about the disappearances of Linnea, Gerald, Beatrice, and Nora Everlasting. I saw the house; this is defiantly concerning some sort of beast. The way the bodies were torn up…." Hartia stopped upon realizing that Cleo was standing there, "I'm sorry."

The door to the study opened a second time and Cleo's mother joined the crowd of people that had gathered in her house.

"Oh! Cleo, you're back! I'm afraid I have some disturbing news--"

"I know, mom," Cleo interrupted, "I heard. Actually, I have something to add…"

"What! Kiraza, Gregory, and Annette have gone missing too?" Tistiny screamed. She staggered a bit feeling dizzy but managed to collapse in a nearby arm chair. "Why?" she asked breathlessly.

"The same circumstances and this Kira girl could use M-alchemy…this is very unnerving," Hartia whispered.

"Yeah, I find it strange that Kira was the only one who hadn't gone missing. I wonder why that is. Unfortunately, she left before she was able to tell us anything," Orphen grabbed his things and prepared to leave. "Well it's getting late," Orphen yawned, motioning Majic that it was time to go, "I'll see you later. You know where to find us."

Majic and Orphen departed for Bagups's tavern, leaving Cleo, Tistiny, and Hartia to sit in silence. Mariabella had gone to bed and Leki slept curled up in his mistress's lap.

"I think it best that we all went to bed to get some rest. Don't you think?" Tistiny stood and walked with Cleo to the stairs. "Do you have a place to stay Hartia?" She asked kindly.

"I have to report back to the Tower of Fang, but thanks for asking," Hartia bowed slightly in appreciation then teleported to the tower.

After Cleo finished taking her bath, she dressed in a blue nightgown and sat on the edge of her bed. Leki jumped beside her and licked her hand. She smiled weakly at her faithful companion and scratched him behind the ears. Her vision began to blur as exhaustion began to take its toll again. She crawled under her covers and switched off her lamp.

She fell into a light sleep when she heard a light tap on the glass door to her balcony.

'Must be the wind,' she thought lazily and drifted to sleep again.

But the tapping grew louder and turned into a long, painful shriek, like nails on a chalkboard. Leki's eyes began to glow and he started growling ferociously. Cleo sat upright, alarmed, sweat began to gather on her forehead and her heart hammered in her chest.

She glanced over to the glass door to find big, bright green eyes staring at her.

It was Kira.

CelestaRedFlower: My longest chapter yet….ugh, I didn't expect it to take SO long. A little fact about Perthro and Berkano: these are actually the names of two runes. I'm no good at coming up with names on my own, but I have creative ways of finding them! Piece of good news: This is the first story that I've ever written and thought out the WHOLE ENTIRE storyline. I'm sorry that the beginning was a little slow, in chapter four things are really gonna get going. Some questions that the characters (or you might have) will be answered. Send your reviews…please? I love getting reviews, unless they are unnecessary flames. Until next time!


	4. Chapter 4

CelestaRedFlower: I know it's been quite a while since my last update but I wanted this chapter to be as perfect as I could possibly get it; it's one of the most important chapters and I didn't want to have any mistakes/plot holes. I'm starting to relax a bit so I might not update as quickly as the previous three chapters (Obviously, or this would have been up sooner ) Just so you'd know, most of the background stuff I used about sorcerers and the heavenly beings (nornir) is manga based. Anyway, on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sorcerous Stabber Orphen.

"Kira!" Cleo jumped out of bed and ran to the balcony door with Leki at her heels. She frantically flung it open letting the cold air drift inside.

"What are you doing out here?"

"I came here to finish what I meant to tell you at my house, but unfortunately we were interrupted," she spoke the last few words with venom in her voice.

A strong gale blew. Kira shuddered from the cold wind and rubbed her shoulders desperately. Cleo held the door open generously.

"Why don't you come inside?" she asked.

Kira hesitated then shook her head, "I Can't. I have to stay out here just in case…they come," Kira's voice lowered to a faint whisper.

"Who?"

"I'll get to that later, but first I need to ask you something. Are you aware of who the Heavenly Beings were?"

Cleo nodded.

"Good that will save me a lot of explaining. Are you also aware that their blood runs through the veins of sorcerers?"

Cleo nodded again.

"Good. Well…as you know my mother was an amateur archaeologist. She had digs all around our village and discovered a Heavenly Being ruin near Perthro. It had a strange chamber not found in any other excavation and a second chamber filled with archives that described what the Heavenly Beings specifically built that chamber for," Kira paused, swaying and almost falling. All the color drained from her face as she started to cough hoarsely.

"Are you okay? You look so pale…"

"I'm all right; I just haven't been in the best of health," Kira choked, "Anyway, that's not important, _listen_," Kira stepped away from Cleo and nervously glanced at the sky before continuing, "The archives said that the Heavenly Beings were experimenting with spell amplification. They wanted to create a tool that would activate only by their touch. For their first experiments, they tried fusing various spells together, but those were recorded as failures. They also tried mixing special elixirs and experimenting with sorcerous runes. The sorcerous runes were the only thing they found something that they could work with. Everything else they tried was a failure. In order to create the tool they wanted, they needed something that was alive to use as their catalyst."

"So? What's your point? What does this have to do with anything?" Cleo couldn't see where Kira was going with this. Who cares about what happened all those years ago.

Kira grumbled impatiently. "Let me finish and you'll see," she growled. "So, the Heavenly Beings decided to use a human girl as the catalyst. They tattooed the necessary runes on her body and placed her in the chamber. Periodically, the heavenly beings would stimulate her body with their magic thus making the runes more than just writing. Eventually this experiment was successful and the girl came to be called the 'Heavenly Tool'. This created M-alchemy."

"But wait that doesn't make sense. If what Orphen said was true about not being able to have sorcerer's blood to use M-alchemy, then how did the heavenly beings--" Kira held up her hand, cutting Cleo off.

"You misunderstood what I said. The girl _was_ M-alchemy. You see, Orphen and all the other sorcerers, misinterpreted things. The gene just means that you hold the potential of M-alchemy. It can only be properly used by a 'wielder' in other words, a sorcerer. Trying to use M-alchemy without a wielder is reckless and unstable," Kira's voice trembled with regret.

Cleo scratched her head and thought hard. "But wait," she said, "You can use M-alchemy…is that why you've always hated sorcerers, because they have the ability to 'wield' you? I don't know what you were so frightened about; I mean you could always be like, 'no thanks' and walk away."

"A heavenly tool does not have the power to disobey a sorcerer. That's why I've always hated them, because they could come and control me any time they wanted…that is to say if they ever found out what I was," Kira's fists clenched as she remembered the encounter with the sorcerer that had destroyed the peaceful life she knew.

"That's interesting, and Orphen and Majic would get more out of it than me. What I want to know is who destroyed your home and Linnea's and murdered all the servants. Speaking of which, where is Linnea?" Cleo stared into Kira's eyes, expecting a direct answer.

"Linnea is safe. And the heavenly tools have everything to do with that matter," When Cleo gave Kira a puzzled look, she sighed, "The second part of the experiment was to make it so all heavenly beings had a tool of their own. In order to do that they needed multiple tools so they bound the rune fusion ability to the blood of M-alchemy. Once that was successful, t-they started conducting a breeding program. There were very few successes that had as much power as the original, but one success was the Everlasting line, our family. "

"You still haven't answered my question!" Cleo stomped her foot impatiently.

Kira closed her eyes, not particularly wanting to relive the events of the last few weeks, even as she realized that if she were in Cleo's shoes, she'd need to complete the story to believe. Praying for patience to deal with the barrage of questions this would trigger, she inhaled and began, "A couple of weeks ago, a sorcerer came to Perthro to study the nearby ruins. He approached my mother since she was head of the project that discovered them years ago. Apparently it didn't reach the Tower of Fang's attention until recently. So he came to our house to collect the documents and reports she had written, saying that he was a representative of the Tower of Fang. My mother didn't have much of a choice in the matter so she handed them over.

Later we found out that he was actually an imposter. He was actually an outcast sorcerer, who had been experimenting with things that were forbidden by the Tower…mainly magic amplification which in turn lead him to study about the legend of the heavenly tools. I got the documents back but only succeeded because I was forced to use my powers. I set fire to them immediately. The sorcerer found out what I was and forced me into a contract. He decided to continue his research on magical amplification and decided to use my family as test subjects, but something went wrong."

As Kira reached the end of her explanation, Cleo found herself increasingly distracted by the unreasonably cold night. Unbelievably the temperature dropped still further. She shivered from the cold air when a tiny crystal of ice fell softly on her cheek. 'Snow…' Cleo thought, 'No way, it's summer.'

Cleo heard something about how shifts in the wind or extreme changes in weather patterns were signs of bad omens. Just when she thought things couldn't get any weirder, she saw a streak of lightening across the sky followed by an earsplitting rumble.

"Lightning and snow? In summer?" Cleo watched the sky intently realizing after a moment she was looking for nothing specific. Memories of the Bloody August surged back, the raw oppressive power, sights, smells and everything. "What the hell's going on Kira?"

Kira stood beside her, speechless as they both watched the clouds begin to swirl and the black lightning become thin solid rods of energy connecting sky to earth creating a gateway. The clouds tunneled down into a tornado before being broken apart by two pairs of wings, one set red and the other blue.

Two dragons broke through the clouds and soared towards the Everlasting mansion. Kira grabbed Cleo's wrist and threw her inside her room, causing Cleo to hit the floor. Leki growled at the approaching creatures and stood protectively in front of his mistress.

"Damn, I thought I'd have more time than this," Kira hissed looking behind her.

"Where the hell did they come from?" Cleo trembled. Her heart skipped a beat at a loud crack of thunder

"No time now. Get your family out to those sorcerers you trust so much, I guess. I don't have any other choice right now. Move it!"

Cleo sat there motionless trying to process the situation. The flashes of lightning illuminated her face for a few seconds.

"Don't just sit there! GO!"

Cleo scrambled to her feet. She ran out the door and down the hall to her sister's room with Leki racing after her. She barged into her sister's room and tore off Mariabella's covers.

"GET UP NOW!" Cleo screamed.

"Huh? Cleo, what's wrong?"

"Up. Now. No questions, it's an emergency!"

Mariabella, hearing the urgency on her sister's voice and becoming aware of the sounds of the storm outside, didn't say another word as she got out of bed. When Mariabella didn't move quickly enough to suit Cleo, she grabbed Mariabella by the wrist and dragged her to their mother's bedroom.

While crossing the top of the stairs, the girls heard hammering on the front door. Cleo gripped her sister's wrist tighter and her overprotective instincts began to kick into overdrive. Leki growled at the door and his eyes started to glow.

"Shouldn't we answer the door?" Mariabella began to slow her pace.

"No!" Cleo pulled Mariabella forward and further away from the front door. Out of fear of frightening her sister, she didn't want to say the reason why they shouldn't answer the door; she didn't want to tell her that it could have been the people who murdered the servants and kidnapped their family.

Cleo gave Leki the command to blast the door. His eyes glowed briefly before the door exploded into flying shards of wood. She shielded Mariabella from the debris that went cascading into the hallway.

"Now, Cleo, why did you do that? That was completely unnecessary," Mariabella scolded.

"Oh will you shut up? I wasn't thinking okay!" Cleo grumbled.

"So reckless," Mariabella sighed.

"Mom you have to wake…up?" to Cleo's surprise, her mother was already up and dressed.

"…there you are. I was about to get you," Tistiny gave a quick hug to her two daughters, "We need to get out, and I think the back way would be best" Tistiny led her daughters back into the hallway and towards their 'emergency escape' door. Tistiny decided to get one once the house was built. Cleo never understood why, but now she was quite grateful for her mother's wisdom.

"What's going on? Mother, how come you weren't asleep?" Mariabella asked quietly following her mother's lead. Lightning flashed through the windows, lighting their way as they hurried down the stairs and towards the back of the mansion.

"Do you honestly think I could sleep with all this racket," Tistiny replied. Leaning close to Cleo afterward to add in a whisper, "I was worried that whoever seems to be targeting our family would come here. Was I right?"

Before Cleo could answer, there was a huge crash at the front door. Their hearts jumped at the sound as they froze in shock before a much more welcome sound was heard.

"Cleo!" Orphen screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Mrs. Everlasting! Mariabella!" Majic's voice followed.

"Well Cleo, it seems your champion has arrived," Tistiny smiled at Cleo's blush and silent protests. Cleo, Mariabella, and Tistiny abandoned the idea of going out the back door and hurried back to the front of the house meeting up with their protectors. Leki yipped, sitting down on the floor, pleased to see the two sorcerers.

"Come on," Orphen said grabbing Cleo's hand as soon as she was close enough pulling her towards the remnants of the door, "You're going to the tavern now. Majic will stay with you and a squad of sorcerers Hartia brought back with him, while we deal with the dragons," Orphen took the lead now and was determined to get his companions out of harms way.

"There's no reason to fight," Tistiny shouted, stopping Mariabella, who was hurrying out the door and noticing that Cleo had stopped, broken away from Majic and was moving to re-join Orphen. Knowing her youngest daughter, she wouldn't leave without both her companions, so she tried to reason with the sorcerer. "It would be best if we all left together."

Orphen looked at her when she said that and he caught her meaning when Cleo grasped his arm. "Fine…where were you heading before?"

"We have an emergency exit that will get us out and under cover till we're some distance from the house."

"Let's go." He gestured for Tistiny to lead the way.

(break)

The emergency exit was actually in a closet just to the side of the back door. Once opened, the closet led down some stairs to a surprisingly large open area that already had a couple of the maids and the butler waiting in it. Tistiny quickly explained this was where the family and servants would gather in an emergency before leaving via the underground passage. They hurried through the passage, which opened up just at the tree line. The location gave them a view of not only the house, but also the road into Totokanta.

Cleo let out a sigh of relief, "We made it."

Majic turned around to face the house and his eyes widened. "Uh…Master," Majic stuttered, "I think we have a problem." He pointed to the sky. Everyone followed Majic's gaze to see the two dragons practically hovering above the mansion.

"Damn it! Majic, take everyone to the tavern, now!"

"But Orphen…" Cleo started to protest.

"Cleo, just go!" Orphen yelled before grabbing her back when a bolt of black lightning struck only a few yards away. The blue dragon landed in the smoldering clearing that the lightning had provided. And with another bolt of lightning, the red dragon landed beside its companion.

"Shit!" Orphen pushed in front of the defenseless group and raised his hand to fire a spell. Cleo scooped Leki into her arms and held him tight preventing him from attacking the dragons or getting in Orphen's way.

The red dragon's eyes blazed furiously. It drew back its neck and began building fire in its throat. The dragon released its flames after reaching all that its throat could contain.

"Miss Mariabella, Mrs. Everlasting, stay close together," Majic directed.

Orphen chanted words and conjured a shield. The fireball spiraled towards him and was deflected by the shield.

"Fine, if that's the way you want to do things, SWORD OF--"

"STOP!"

Kira interrupted Orphen's spell and materialized between him and the dragons.

Orphen glowered at her and roared, "Move, Kira. These things are here to kill your family. Is that what you want!"

Kira returned his glare and stepped more directly in his path. She lifted her arms out to her sides acting as a human fence.

Orphen recast the spell and aimed over her head.

"MOVE!" Orphen released a bit of his energy so his hand glowed and blinded Kira.

"No." she shielded her eyes with her right hand.

The blue dragon shrieked in fury and began building the energy in its throat.

Kira whipped around facing the dragons and screamed, "Mother! Stop it please!" The blue dragon ignored her plea and released a ball of light blue energy that froze everything in its path. Kira charged at Orphen and grabbed onto him as he chanted "I spin thee, Armor of Light" putting up a light shield. Her body glowed with messages written in sorcerous runes.

A green circle glowed beneath them and Orphen's shield which usually stretched ten feet high and five feet wide, tripled in size protecting everyone from the enormous orb of ice heading there way.

The surrounding area was completely iced over except for a small patch that was protected by Orphen's shield.

"Are you alright, Master?"

"Yeah, it's just that the spell I used isn't supposed to be that powerful. Kira must have amplified it somehow."

Cleo paled, remembering her previous conversation with Kira about the 'Heavenly Tools'. She felt a small prick of jealousy and shame at not being able to help Orphen the way Kira did.

They group finally noticed that Kira had drifted off and stood before the two dragons.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it. I promise," she addressed the dragons. They nodded their heads in satisfaction and spread their wings. With a powerful flap of their wings spans, they rose into the swirling black clouds and disappeared. At their departure, the weather cleared to reveal the pre-drawn sky. All eyes were on Kira.

Orphen hadn't liked Kira when they first met. She was cold and distant, and never seemed to give a straight answer. She also spoke of sorcerers like they were lower than filth. But now he felt a strange sort of understanding. Having your family turn into dragons and attack innocent people; that was something he could relate to and explained some of her actions.

"That blue dragon was your mother? So the red dragon would be…?" Cleo couldn't believe it. Her aunt and uncle had turned into dragons, but how?

"Yes, the red dragon is my father. As I was saying before, Cleo, something went wrong." With that said Kira traced something in the air and faded away until she disappeared completely.

"What was she talking about?" Orphen demanded.

Cleo didn't know why, but she felt somewhat hesitant to share what Kira had explained to her. Whether it was out of fear of fear for herself or anyone else in her family she didn't know. 'But it was Orphen and Majic. They wouldn't do anything…would they?' Cleo asked herself. It's a funny thing how exhaustion and fear can slightly warp the trust in the ones that are close to you.

"Cleo," Orphen demanded again.

"Oh I'm too tired to explain it right now! I'll tell you later!" she rubbed her eyes gently.

Orphen just nodded and started walking towards the tavern with everyone following suit. He decided to question her about her 'little chat' with Kira after they had all gotten some rest.

(break)

Cleo lay sprawled across her bed and sighed as the recent events invaded her mind. She knew she was safe as long as she traveled with Orphen but she was worried what would happen to her family if she, Orphen, and Majic started traveling again. Well, she was worried _until_ a legion of the Tower of Fang's sorcerers showed up explaining that the Tower of Fang anticipated an attack on her family and sent out sorcerers to guard her house.

Her eyes lazily glanced at the gap at the bottom of her door. She saw the four feet belonging to the two unfortunate guards who were assigned to make sure that she didn't leave her room. 'This is ridiculous! I feel like I'm in a prison! A prison with a very nice décor, might I add…but still!' Cleo thought angrily.

She took out her frustrations by ranting to her guards and saying things like, "I don't know why I need you two useless sorcerers. What, did they run out of the decent ones and send me you two losers?" She couldn't help it; she needed an outlet and those guards were the only people around. Complaining was the only thing she could come up with to keep her mind off of things.

After her ranting about how pathetic they were she would start complaining and asking for things like food, or something to drink, or books, or one of her friends so she could find out what was going on. Why did they always have to leave her in the dark? She didn't care how rude and vile she was being, she was scared and confused.

After a long tirade of insults, they started to whisper to each other, thinking that Cleo couldn't hear half as well as she complained.

"I don't know how Krylancelo and Majic put up with her. She's a complete nightmare," one muttered.

"I know! It's too bad she's so hot. If it weren't for her mouth I'd--"

"I can hear you, you imbeciles!" Cleo screamed throwing her shoe at the door. They stopped talking immediately. Although she thought she might have heard a quietly muttered, "Bitch."

She sighed; there was nothing worse than being locked in your room and unable to do anything. Leki gently nipped her hand to get her attention. For the longest time, she had been too busy complaining or lost in thought to notice him before.

"Sorry, Leki, I didn't mean that you were boring," she smiled at him.

He playfully batted her hand for a while. Something about her pocket caught his attention. He jumped to her side and started to sniff her pocket.

"Oh yeah, I still have Kira's ring," Cleo reached into her pocket and took out the ring. She held the ring out in her palm. "Huh? What's this?" She put the ring aside on the small table beside her bed and studied her hand. There was a sorcerous rune tattooed in the middle of her palm.

"How did this get here?" she whispered in awe and then she remembered when Kira grabbed onto Orphen when he raised his shield; she glowed all over with the runes and then she remembered something Kira said, 'When marks start to appear on your body, don't let any sorcerers touch you.'

CelestaRedFlower: I'm really sorry this took SO long. I wish that I could have a set schedule for updating but I can't. Unfortunately, my attention span is a huge problem for me. I have really bad ADD. Don't worry though, I will not leave this story unfinished; it'll just take a very long time to finish but I'll do my best.


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